


Casualities of War

by MissMeggo



Series: Behind Closed Doors [3]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Comfort, F/M, Hurt, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-31
Updated: 2016-05-31
Packaged: 2018-07-11 10:10:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7044115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissMeggo/pseuds/MissMeggo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“We hear things out there.  They say Skyhold is a safe place for those of us that are…tired.”<br/>“Tired?”<br/>“Not all of us wanted this war Little Bear.  You know that.”<br/>“Boss?”  Bull’s deep voice interrupted the conversation.<br/>She glanced at the qunari, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.  Denna turned, not letting go of the older man’s arm.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Casualities of War

“ _ You’re _ the Inquisitor?”  

Denna froze, as did the entire training field.  It would have been comical, an entire battalion of soldiers and mages turning almost as one towards the main gates of Skyhold.  Bull and Blackwall, both working with smaller groups both straightened to attention.  Denna let the spirit sword she had been practicing with dissolve as her sparring partner stepped back.

The voice was familiar, if in a distant sort of way.  She turned to eye up the newcomers.  Three men sat on worn looking, exhausted mounts.  Their armor was obviously Templar in make, if dull and old looking. 

Beards covered most of their face, disguising the leader’s expression as he dismounted.  Denna slowly approached the three, years of living in the circle leaving her cautious of the unknown men.  None of them drew swords or unsheathed shields.  From her periphery, she saw Bull and Blackwall begin to approach the men from the back. 

“I am, yes.”

The man she had assessed was the leader stepped up to her, greyish blue eyes dancing.  “Has it been so long you’ve forgotten me?”

Shock flooded through her and without thought Denna flung herself at the older man, laughing.  “Ser Caulfield?”

He gathered her up into a bear hug, swinging her to and fro just slightly.  “Hello Little Bear.”

Oblivious to those around her she almost latched onto his arm.  “What are you doing here?”

“We hear things out there.  They say Skyhold is a safe place for those of us that are….tired.”

“Tired?”

“Not all of us wanted this war Little Bear.  You know that.”

“Boss?”  Bull’s deep voice interrupted the conversation.  

She glanced at the qunari, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.  Denna turned, not letting go of the older man’s arm.  “Bull, Blackwall, this is Ser Bryce Caulfield, a friend.”

“Didn’t know mages were friends with Templars,” Blackwall drawled.

“Our families knew each other long before my magic became apparent and he became a templar,” she replied sharply.  Denna ignored the speculative raise of Bull’s brow.  “I’ll take you to find Commander Cullen.  I’m guessing you want to stay?”

“If you’ll have us.”  Caulfield glanced at the other two standing behind him uneasily.  “We’re tired of fighting a pointless battle when there’s a much bigger threat out there.”

“Then we want you.”  She nodded towards her friends before turning away.  “Follow me.”

She spent the rest of the morning with the three.  During their time in the Free Marches, Cullen and Bryce had crossed paths and the Commander was more than happy to set the three to work training new recruits after they recovered.  Denna eventually left them to clean up and promised to meet them for the evening meal.

The rest of the day passed in a whirlwind of meetings.  The war council claimed much of her time, the afternoon filled with plans for their next excursion.  It wasn’t until late afternoon that Denna returned to her quarters for a much needed break.  She had been there only moments when heavy, unfamiliar footsteps sounded on the stairs.  

“I’m surprised the guards let you up here,” she called over her shoulder, not turning from the pot of tea she had begun.

“Guards weren’t really the problem.  The one eyed qunari however,”  Bryce trailed off on a laugh.  “He’s quite large to be a shadow isn’t he?”

“You’d be surprised.  The Iron Bull is very good.”  Denna turned and handed him a cup.  Her friend looked better.  Dusty armor had been replaced with clean clothing, his beard and hair trimmed neatly.  “And he takes his job seriously.”

“His job?”   
“Officially, Bull and his mercenaries are here to provide front line security.”

“For you I take it?”  He sighed when she nodded a yes.  “He’s not just there to protect you.”

She only smiled in response.  They hadn’t spent much time together yet, she and Bull.  Denna had no plans to discuss that with anyone, Bryce included.  

Unperturbed, he took a sip from the still steaming cup.  “I must admit my surprise at not finding Ser Grayson here.” 

Denna sucked in a soft breath, shock and loss spearing through her.  It had been years since she heard that name.  The grief must have shown on her face because Bryce set down his cup and she found herself swept into a hug.  

“I’m sorry Little Bear.”

“How did you know about him?”

She felt his chuckle more than heard it.  “You were both young and didn’t hide it as well as you thought.  Before this pointless war started, the Knight Commander was planning on moving him to Starkhaven.”

Denna sighed and stepped back from the embrace.  “I miss him.”

“I know you do.”

 

\------------------------------------

She didn’t come down for dinner.  Bull had foregone Haven’s Rest for dinner that evening, instead joining the others in the main dining hall.  The templar had returned from Denna’s room hours before, going directly to the barracks.  Not that he was following the man, but Bull knew how Templars were.  

It was easy to intercept the servant headed towards her room and pluck the tray from their hands with a wink and a smile.  The guards barely blinked as he let himself through the door heading towards her quarters.  Bull knew something was wrong as he neared the top of the staircase.  There were many things he was good at, but stealth was not one of them.  Denna would most often call out a welcome, but only silence greeted him.  A moment of fear spiked through him as he imagined the worst.

He set the tray down gently.  The door to her bath was closed, no warm scent of oils drifting out.  A brief glance at her balconies confirmed those were empty as well.  Only a quiet sniff gave her away.  

“Kadan?”  The endearment slipped out and he winced slightly as he rounded to the far side of the bed.  She sat curled up on the floor, back pressed against the side of the bed, head bowed.  

Denna wiped at her cheeks.  “Bull.”

“What did he do?”  His voice dropped dangerously.  

“Nothing.   _ Bull. _ ”  The sharp tone of her voice kept him from storming down the stairs.  “Bryce did nothing to me.  We talked.  It brought up memories.”  A few errant tears slipped down her face.  Decision made, Bull scooped her up, head tucked against his shoulder.  Wordlessly he carried her into the bath.  Well used to the Inquisitor’s habits, chamber servants had set out pails of water, warming in banked coals.  As the water cooled in the tub, Bull carefully helped Denna undress, folding the clothes neatly before stripping off his own clothing and guiding her into the stone tub.

He was mildly surprised when she relaxed almost immediately against his chest.  Bull wrapped an arm loosely around her waist, mooring her close to him.  He didn’t question, merely sat with her in the warm, lightly scented water.  Eventually she sighed, her hands coming to rest over his.

“Bryce Caulfield took me to the circle when my magic appeared.”  A sad smile curved over her lips.  “We had an estate that bordered his family’s.  Bryce and my brother were close and occasionally they tolerated my tagging along.  I was five when he was sent off with the templars.”

“Your magic didn’t show that young.”

“No.  I was almost twelve when it happened.  Somewhat old actually.”  Denna huffed a laugh.  “There’s a reason he calls me Little Bear.”

“I figured as much.”

“I didn’t listen.  Went wandering into the woods near the end of fall without anyone else.  I was mad.  I met a bear in the woods, foraging before it hibernated.”

“Boss…”

“I know.  I screamed as it rounded on me.  Bryce and my brother came barreling into the clearing just in time to see a ball of lightning burst from my fingers.  It was dead before they could even draw their swords.  The next day, Bryce accompanied me to the circle in Ostwick.  He didn’t trust the local templars.”

“He kept you safe.” 

“Between him and my father’s influence, I was much better off than most.”

“But that’s not why you’re upset.”  Bull’s hand stroked along Denna’s waist, comforting as she stiffened in his arms.  

“We didn’t want it, the war between the mages and templars.  There were rumors of course, but most of us thought nothing of it until the first explosions.  A small group decided to rebel and the templars began killing without thought.  I did what I could, protecting as many of the children as possible. We were almost out when a small group of templars seemed to appear from nowhere.”

Denna stopped, a breath shuddering out as she remembered those tense minutes.  

“Did you fight?”

“No.  They were fleeing, just like us.”  She trailed fingers up his arm idly, eyes drifting shut.  “We wound up together.  Three templars and six apostates, just trying to stay alive. Maker’s Breath, we shouldn’t have survived.”

“How did you?”

Her jaw clenched.  Bull felt the tension seep back into her muscles.  “Ser Grayson was one of the templars.  Another noble from near Nevarra.  He took charge.  We worked together to keep the younger ones safe.  We kept off the roads, stayed away from villages, unless we needed something.  People liked him.  No one ever suspected who, or what, he was.”

“He wasn’t like Cullen?  No lyrium to cloud his judgement?”

“He was too young.  Luka, the eldest of our group left after a few months for that very reason.  The withdrawals got worse and one evening he stood up, hugged the smallest girl Molly, and disappeared into the woods.”

“Must have been hard.  Losing your people like that.”

“We lost most of them.  Illness, fighting, love.  Until it was just the three of us.  Molly, Grayson, and I.  After awhile it stopped feeling like we were fleeing and more like we were a family.  Our first night together, you asked if I had previous bed partners.”

If he was startled by the question, Bull didn’t show it.  “I believe I was a bit more subtle than that Kadan, but yes.”

“I loved him.  I didn’t care who he had been before and he felt the same.  We were going to Nevarra, with Molly, to start our own family, but the Maker, apparently, had other plans.”  Her eyes welled again, not wracking sobs, but the quiet tears of sorrow.  Her breath hitched as she continued.  “It was an accident.  We had been so good staying clear of the fighting, we never expected it so far from the cities.  Before Grayson could unsheathe his sword, the arrow hit him.  We stumbled between a faction of apostates and rogue templars who didn’t care who they hurt in the process.”

“What happened to them?”

“I don’t know.  He was half dead, bleeding everywhere, so I tried to carry him away as fast as I could.  We didn’t get far before he stopped me.  I think we both knew no matter what I tried, I wouldn’t have been able to heal him.  He told me he loved me and that I should take Molly and run before they caught us.  I wouldn’t listen.  I stayed with him until he stopped breathing.”

“You did good Kadan.  You honored the one you loved.”

“I lost almost everything that day.  I didn’t care about the circle, but I cared about him.”

“What about the girl?  Molly?”

Denna sniffed.  “She’s safe.  Or at least was as of the last letter I received.

With one large hand, Bull pushed her hair to the side, pressing a soft kiss to the curve of her neck.  It was a soft gesture, one to comfort.  “Thank you for sharing with me Kadan.”

She didn’t respond, too worn from her emotional confession.  Bull let her stay pressed against his chest, neither moving until cooling water forced them from the tub.  Exhausted, Denna nearly collapsed into her bed, not moving until the mattress shifted beneath her.  She rolled, fitting herself beside him, tired eyes already drifting shut.  A heavy arm settled against her back, her hand finding a resting spot against his chest.

“Okay kadan?”

“Yes Bull,” she murmured, nearly asleep.  “I’m okay now.”


End file.
